Wine Terms Starting with D

Refers to a process in which the must of a white wine is allowed to settle before the wine is racked. This process is done to reduce the need for fining and/or filtration

Decadence in a wine is a good thing. They usually have mouth-filling textures.

The process of transferring wine from one bottle to another container, usually to aerate a young wine or separate an older wine from any sediment.

French term for a champagne that has aged at rest for an exceptionally long time (period exceeding 5 to 10 years).

Italian term for a wine tasting

French term to describe the part of the winemaking process when the wine is racked and returned during vinification. This process not only allows to keep moisture in the wine, but also helps to obtain more raw material that provides color and flavor.

Delicacy is a quality often sought in light bodied wines, such as Pinot Noir.

Italian term for a wine denomination or appellation

Dense wines are full of high levels of raw material. This allows the wine's flavor to be concentrated

Italian term for the density of planting of a vineyard

Wines with depth have several layers of concentrated flavor.

The process of separating the grape berries from the stem is called destemming.

The removal of shoots that do not bear fruit.

Organic compound found in wine that tastes like butter. Diacetyl comes from oak aging and malolactic fermentation.

Wine with odors foreign to those of the grapes, fermentation or aging.

Italian document that contains all the regulations that a particular wine must comply with to be able to have in the label the name of a deniomination or appellation.

Process by which the final sediment is removed from traditionally made sparkling wines before dosage is added. Bottles are stored on racks at 45 degree angle and rotated a quarter turn to allow for the spent lees and sediment to gather in the neck of the bottle and disgorged (removed) from the bottle.

Used to describe wines with elegant, sophisticated and refined character.

Italian term to refer to a wine distributor

It is the abbreviation for Appellation of Origin (Denominación de Origen) in Spanish. It is also the abbreviation for dissolved oxygen, which greatly affects the oxidation of the wine and its aging properties.

This is the abbreviation for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, or "controlled appellation of place". This is the Italian designation for wines whose name, origin, grape varieties and other important factors are regulated by law. It is also the abbreviation for Portugal's top wine category, which has the same meaning in that country.

Abbreviation for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, or Denomination of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin, which is the highest ranking category of wines in Italy. The Disciplinare in Italy sets out the rules to be followed by appellation in order for a wine to be designated: DOCG, DOC, IGT, VdT, etc.

Italian term for a sweet wine. In the case of still and frizzante  wines, they must have more that 45 g of sugar/liter, while in the case of sparkling wines they must have more than 50 g/l and in the case of fortified wines more than 100 g/l.

Italian term for the process of sweetening a wine

Abbreviation for Denominación de Origen Protegida, a protected geographical status in Spanish wine.

Italian term for a golden color that may appear in some wines

The topping of the disgorged bottles of wine with a small amount of wine (usually mixed with sugar) causes a second fermentation in the bottle and drives complexity in the wine. Very common with wines produced using Méthode Champenoise. It is the last step in the  production process of Champagne and other sparkling wines. Determines whether a wine is brut, extra dry, dry or semi-sweet.

Italian term for Dosage

Double decanting is a process in which wine is poured from the bottle into a decanter. The bottle is then washed to remove sediment and the wine is poured back into the original bottle.

A river in Portugal, and a wine region famous for the production of Port wines.

Refers to vines tended without the use of irrigation. Irrigation is not legal in most areas of Europe for vines over 3 years of age.

A term used when a wine is losing its fruity flavor. It is usually something that happens when wines dry out.

A term used to describe a wine that is uninteresting and lacking in character.